The military wing of the Hamas group, Izzadin Al-Qassam Brigades launched a Qassam missile and mortar shells Tuesday morning at the Israeli settlements of Nezer Hazani and Nitzanit.
A statement issued by the brigades said that four mortar shells were launched at the settlement of Nezer Hazani, north of Khan Yunis, and that fire was seen burning.
A second statement said that a Qassam missile was launched at the settlement of Nitzanit, north of Gaza.
The Israeli Army had announced that a synagogue in a settlement north of the Strip was damaged in a shelling but that there were no injuries.
Meanwhile, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair arriving to Tel Aviv Tuesday night, Britain backed Israel's decision to absent itself from a possible Middle East conference in London next year, saying that the summit had been designed to focus on the Palestinians.
"This meeting is about Palestine and practical reforms within Palestine," said the British Foreign Office. No date has been set.
"This has never been conceived of as a major peace conference," said a Foreign Office spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The British Prime Minister is expected to meet with Israeli leaders during his visit, including premier Ariel Sharon, before heading to the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian officials, among them the new head of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen).
